Governing and gland apparatus



' 1,467.575 w. B. FLANDERS GOVERNING AN]? GLAND APPARATUS Filed April 10. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I, IIIIII IIIIIII,/IIIII l) v I I I N VEN TOR.

V S yr (t 21v fi I W rren 5 F lander-.5 BY W ATTORNEY Se t. 11, 1923. 1,467.575-

' w. B. FLANDERS GOVERNING ND GLAND APPARATUS Filed pril 10. 1920" 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. W Warren B. Flanders 1- A BY WW A TTORNEY Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

WARREN B. FLANDERS, OF ESINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTING HOUSE ELECTRIC AND .MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

GOVERNING AND GLAND APPARATUS.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN B. FLANDERS. a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Essington, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Governing and Gland Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to governing mechanism and more particularly to that class of centrifugal impeller carried 'by the rotor of the turbine, and when the rotor is turning at high velocities, suflicient'pressure is produced by the impeller in the water gland to effectually seal the gland, but when the rotor speed falls below a certain degree, the 1mpeller is nolonger capable of producing the requisite pressure, and at this time 1t is desirable to supply steam toa supplemental steam gland for creating a proper seal between the rotor and its casing; .It 18 also desirable to regulate the speed of the rotor so that its .speed will not exceed the service requirements, and this high speed requiring regulation, is usually considerably above the degree at which the centrifugal impeller becomes effective.

One of the principal objects of this invention is the provision of a governor mechanism'that will properly control the steam supply to the steam sealing gland, the water supply to the water sealing gland, and the motive fluid to the turbine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a single governor mechanism wherein the governor may be adjusted 'to control the motive fluid supply independently of the adjustment controlling the gland fluid supply, and, wherein the gland fluid supply may be regulated without appreciably effecting the motive fluid.

Other objects of the invention are the provision of a governor mechanism that will permit the steam to be supplied tothe seal ing gland when the rotor is turning at low velocities, and that will shut ofl' the steam supply and out in the water supply when the rotor is turning at sufiicient' velocity to pro In such turbines the water I duce effectual sealing of the water gland;

the provision of-a governor mechanism that will maintain the water supply to the wa--: ter glands while the rotor is turning at high velocities and regulate the speed of the rotorto maintain it at a substantially uniform speed under varying loads, and such other objects which'may hereinafter appear. Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a diagrammatic drawing of the preferred form of the governing mechanismsholwing its application to a steam turbine, ant

' Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic drawing showing the governor applied to aniodified form of motive fluid valve.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a turbine, 2 is the shaft of the rotor thereof, 3 and 4 are water packing glands for preventing leakage between the rotor and the turbine casing, and 5 and 6 are steam packing'glands for the same purpose as the water glands, adapted to be used when' the rotor is turning at low velocities. The water glands 3' and 4- are provided with centrifugal runners or impellers secured to the rotor shaft and adapted to produce an annulus of water under pressure'for sealing the gland. The turbine is supplied with motive fluid through the supply pipe 7, andthe steam and water glands are supplied respectively with steam and water through pipes 8 'and'9 respectively. The just described apparatus is of standard construction and wellknown to those skilled in the art.

The governing mechanism of the above described turbine consists of a governor operated valve 10 actuated by a governor 11, this governor valve being adapted to control a' gland fluid valve 12, which serves to control the steam and water supplied to the packing glands, and a motive fluidvalve 13 for controlling the supply of motive fluid to the turbine. The valves and governor are so designed and arranged that when the rotor, to which the governor is operativelyconnected, is rotatedat low speeds the steam passage to the steam gland is open whilethe water passage to the water gland is closed; When'the speed of the rotor increases, the governoractuate'sthe governor valve 10 so as to cause. the packing fluid valve 12 to operat to open the water valve and close Ill) the steam valve. The motive fluid valve 13 is normally open, and when the speed of the rotor exceeds a. predetermined amount the governor again operates the governor valve 10 so as to cause the motive fluid valve 13 to partially close so as to cut down the supply of motive fluid to the turbine. It will be seen from the above that a singl governor is employed to control the packing gland fluids and the motive fluid for the turbine.

The apparatus for accomplishing the above results is constructed as follows: Referring to Fig. 1, the governor 11 comprises a pair of weights 14 pivotally mounted so as to be moved outward by centrifugal force when rotated by the shaft 15 geared to the rotor shaft 2 by means of the bevel gears 16 and 17 The outward movement of the weights is opposed by centripetal force exerted by the spring 18. A sleeve 19 is slidably mounted upon the shaft 15 and connected with the weights 14: so that the Sleeve will beraised against the pressure of the spring 18 when the weights move outward. The tension of the spring 18 may be adjusted by turning the screw 18 at the top of the governor or by any othersuitable means i The sleeve 19 is-pivotally attached toa lever 20, which is fulcrumed at one end at 21 and connected at its free end to a governor valve stem 22 When the governor weights 14 are rotated they will raise the sleeve 19 against the pressure of the spring 18 and cause the lever 20 to be raised, .ca rrying with it the stem 22. After a predetermined movement of the sleeve 19 the pressure of the spring 18 will be supplemented by the pressure of the supplemental tension spring 23 adjustably secured at its lower end to a support 2& and having a lost motion connection with the lever 20 by means of an adjustable stop 25 This stop is supported against downward movement by a support 24 so that the tension of the spring 23 may be adjusted by turning the nut 24. The purpose of this supplemental spring 23 will hereinafter appear.

The governor valve 10 comprlses a casing in which a pair of piston valves 26 and 27 are adapted to reciprocate so as to successively close, when lifted by the stem 2-2, a pair of exhaust passages 28 and 29 respec tively The exhaust passage 28 is adapted to exhaust steam from a steam operated packing fluid valve 12. This valve comprises a casing in which is mounted for reciprocation a valve piston 30, which is substantially the same diameter as the valve casing. This piston is provided with a reduced piston 30 adapted to pass through a diaphragm 31,v so as to close off communication between the steam supply pipe 32 and the steam passage 8. The upper end of the piston 30 is provided with a valve 33 adapted to seat upon a diaphragm 34so as to close communication between a water supply inlet 35 and the water passage 9. It will be seen that upward movement ofthe piston 30 will cause a closure of communication between the steam inlet 32and the steam pipe '8; This movement will also raise the valve 33 from the diaphragm seat 34, thereby opening communication between the water inlet passage 35 and the water paplsage 9 which leads to the water glands 3 an 4.

\Vhen the steam exhaust passage 28 is open, as indicated in Fig. 1, the steam pressure within the valve 12will cause the piston 30 to remain in its lowermost position as shown, but when the exhaust passage'28 is closed steam in the chamber will leak down past the piston 30 and cause greater pressure on the lower side of the piston than on the upper side. The piston 30 will then be moved upward so as to close the steam passage 8 and open the water passage 9. It will be seen that the initial upward movement of the piston 26 of'the governor valve 10 will close the exhaust passage 28 and thereby cause water to be supplied to the water glands 3 and l and steam to be closed off from the steam packing glands 5 and 6.

The motive fluid valve 13 which controls the supply of motive fluid to the turbine through the pipe 7 is controlled bythe governor valve by means of the exhaust port 29 which leads to the lower'end ofthe valve 13. This motive fluid valve comprises a shell in which is mounted a piston 37 substantially the size of the interior of the casing and is provided with a reduced piston 38 adapted to pass through the diaphragm 39 so as to close communication between the steam supply inlet 40 andfthe steam delivery pipe 7; This'valve is normally open and held in open position bymeans of a spring 41 which bears against the upper end of'the valve 37. This valve is operated in amanner similar to the operation of the packing fluid valve 12, that is, by reason of steam passing the piston 37 to its under side and overbal'anc ing the pressure above it when the exhaust passage 29 is closed by the valve 27 of the governor valve 10. When the valve 27 vhas closed the exhaust passage 29, the piston 37 will move toward the diaphragm 39 and partially reduce the quantity of motive fluid passing there through to the turbine.

The valves 26 and 27 of the governor valve 10 are relatively positioned with respect to the ports 'so that the valve 26'will close the exhaust passage 28 prior to the closure of the exhaust passage 29 by the valve 27. This closure of the exhaust pasconnection '25 of the supplemental spring 23 of the governor. The valve 27 is so positioned upon the stem 22 that it will not water gland before the valve 37 of the motive fluid valve 13 is actuated to cut down the motive fluid supply to'the turbine. The principal object of the motive fluid valve 13 is to- -maintain a uniform velocity of the turbine at a high rate of speed under varyin loads.

heferring to Fig. 2, wherein a modified form. of motive fluid valve is shown in connection with apparatus substantially similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be seen that in place of the motive fluid valve 13 shown in Fig. 1, a standard form of relay valve 41 is used which consists of the pilot valve 42 controlling a main valve operating motor 43 which is adaptedfito open and closev a main valve 44 controlling motive fluid to the turbine. The motor 43 consists of a piston 45 mounted for reciprocation in the cylinder 46 and which is adapted to hold the main valve in closed position by means of a spring 47 in the cylinder. The pilot valve 42 and the piston 45 are connected to a lever- 48 which is pivotally connected to a governor lever 20. It will be seen that when the governor lever 20 is elevated it will raise the governor valve stem 22 so as to close the exhaust port 28', which action will cause the steam passage 8 to be closed and the water passage 9 to be opened to the water gland. The upward movement of the lever 20' will also cause the pilot valve 42 to be raised so as to throttle the steam leading to the lower end of the cylinder 46. The action will permit the spring 47 to move the valve 44 into partially closed position, thereby cutting down the fluid supply to the turbine.

It will be seen from the foregoing that in both the construction illustrated and described, a governor having a supplemental spring is used, the function of the spring being the controlling of the gland fluid valves before the motive fluid throttle valve is actuated. In the preferred form of the apparatus, the lost motion requisite between the governor and the motive fluid controlling valve is provided between the valve 27, Fig. 1, and the exhaust port 29. In the form illustrated in Fig. 2, the lost motion is provided between the pilot valves 42 and the ports controlled thereby. Therefore in either case the initial movement of the governor does not aflect the motive fluid throttle valve. The springs 18 or 18 may therefore be comparatively weak and being so may be adjusted to meet the requirements of the gland fluid supply without appreciably affecting the operation of the motive fluid control; on the other hand,'the supplemental springs 23 or 23 controlling the motive fluid valves which are comparatively strong, may be adjusted to meet the motive fluid requirements without in the least affecting the-control or operation of the gland fluid valves. It will be apparent from the above that an effect is produced by the use of the two springs that "could'not be accomplished by a single spring.

While I have shown my invention in two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon a are imposed by the prior art or as are specificall T set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is 2,-

1. A machine comprising a casing, a rotor, sets of packing glands between the casing and the rotor, means for supplying elastic fluid to; one set of glands while the rotor is rotating'at low speeds, and means for supplying liquid to the other set of glands when the rotor rotates at higher speeds. 2. machine comprising a casing whose lnterlor pressure is normally different from that of the exterior, an element rotatable with respect to the casing and passing there through, sets of packing glands between the casing and the element, and automatic means for alternatelysupplying elastic fluid to one set of glands'at low speeds of the element and liquid to the other set of glands at higher speeds of the element.

3. A packing device for a rotor mechanism comprising two glands adapted to be supplied respectively with packing material of different densities and speed-responsive mechanism operated by said rotary mechanism for controlling the supply of low-density material to one gland or high-density material to the other gland, depending upon the speed.

4. The combination with a rotor, of an elastic-fluid gland-for sealing the rotor at a low range of speeds, a liquid gland for sealing the rotor at a higher range of speeds, and speed-responsive mechanism for controlling the admission of elasticfluid and liquid to the glands.

' 5. The combination with a rotor, of water and steam glands forsealing the rotor and speed-responsive mechanism for controlling the supply of water and steam to the glands.

6. The combination with a turbine having &

sets of packing glands/for sealing the interior thereof from the exterior, of speedresponsive mechanism for controlling the admission of elastic fluid to one set of glands at a low range of turbine speeds and for controlling the admission of liquid to the other set of glands at a higher range o't-speeds.

7. The combination with a turbine having an admission valve and steam and water glands for sealing the interior of the turbine from the exterior, of speed-responsive means, mechanism operated by the speedresponsive means to supply steam to the steam glands up to a predetermined speed of the turbine and then to supply water to the water glands for higher speeds thereof, and means effective after the water glands are in opera-v tion for rendering the admission valve responsive to the speed-responsive means, whereby the turbine is governed.

8. In combination with a turbine, a gland for preventing leakage of fluids into or out of the turbine, and means responsive to variations in speed of the turbine for controlling the delivery of sealing fluid to the gland.

9. In combination with a turbine,'a gland for preventing leakage of' fluids into or out of the turbine, and means responsive to variations in speed of the turbine for controlling the deli ery of sealing fluid to the gland and motive fluid to the turbine.

10. In combination with a turbine, a packing gland, means for controlling the delivery of sealing fluid to the packing gland, means for controlling the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine, and speed responsive means for controlling both said means.

11. In combination with a turbine, a pack ing gland, means for causing the delivery of sealing fluid to the packing gland within a predetermined speed range, and means for regulating the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine.

12. The combination with a governorhaving a range of movement from low to intermediate speeds for operating suitable devices, or" supplemental means for loading. the governor at a higher speed so that the latter may effectively control a speed-control ele ment.

13. The combination with a machine. having three devices to be rendered effective at different speeds of a governor, mechanism connected to the governorfor rendering two of the devices alternately effective at different speeds, mechanismv for connecting the governor to the third device so that the latter responds to the governor at high speeds, and supplemental means for loading the governor whilethe connection with the third device is effective.

14. In combination with a turbine, a gov ernor mechanism responsive. to the speed of the turbinefor controlling the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine, packing glandsfor the turbine, and means controlled by the governor for controlling the delivery of sealing fluids to said glands.

15. In combination with a turbine, a governor mechanism for controlling the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine over one range of speeds, packing glands for the turbine, and means controlled by the governor over another range of speeds for con trolling the delivery of sealing fluid to said.

glands.

16. In combination with a turbine, a gove ernor having at least two springs which successively become effective with variations in speed of the governor, and means for controlling the delivery of fluids for various purposes and controlled by said governor in succession as diflerent springs become effective.

17. In combination with a turbine, a pack ing gland, valve means for controlling thedelivery of sealing fluid to the packing gland, valve means for controlling the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine. anda speed responsive valve controlled by the speed of the turbine forcontrolling the operation of both said controlling valves.

18. In combination with a turbine. a pack,- ing gland, valve means for controlling the delivery of sealing fluid to the packing gland, valve means for controlling. the delivery of motive fluid to the turbine. anda speed responsive valve controlled by the speed of the turbine for controlling the operation of both said controlling means, adapted to permit the actuation of the valve controlling the sealing fluid prior to the actuation of the valve controlling the motive fluid when the turbine is increasing in speed.

19. In combination with aturbine. a packing gland, valve means forcontrolling the delivery of sealing fluid to the packing gland, valve means for controlling motive fluid valve, and means for regulating the.

control of the motive fluid valve independently of the control of the gland fluid valve without 'aflecting the control of the gland fluid valve.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 7th day of April, 1920.

WARREN B. FLANDER-S. 

